Our dog is gone, ran off, he was good at keeping predators at bay. Now, i lock the chickens up at night, but there is a persistent owl that takes the heads, crop and neck of our chickens that like to roost in the pines and are not in the pen. Other than the three S's, shoot, shovel and shut up, i am going to put in a "singing fish on a plaque" that has a motion sensor. i heard that was effective in getting rid of pesky deer. this owl is persistent, he has taken 1 guinea, and 4 chickens. i know it's an owl cuz i caught him one night. He was huge. I guess it was a great horned. If anyone has any other suggestions, i'd like to hear it. thanks gloria@riverbendlodge.com

-- gg (gloria@riverbendlodge.com), November 19, 2001

Answers

There is not much I detest as much as those singing fish!!!! Maybe it will work.....but really, lead may be the only answer. I like owls and they do good (mostly), but I wouldn't stand for them killing my chickens either.

-- Jason in S. Tenn. (AJAMA5@netscape.net), November 19, 2001.

why not some type of net over a part of the pen, the birds know when a predator is around and will go for cover if any is available

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), November 19, 2001.

Not such good advice, really, since owls are protected by the Migratory Bird Act and shooting them is a big-time felony. If you have electricity out near the chickens maybe a high wattage light on a motion sensor and face it straight up towards where the stray chickens roost? I know owls and light don't mix...just an idea.

-- gilly (wayoutfarm@skybest.com), November 19, 2001.

I read either on this forum or another of a interesting suggestion that sounds worth trying out.....

Setting up a small strobe light in the vicinity the chickens roost. If it was this forum i saw this suggestion posted, maybe that person will post here & relay their experiences.

-- Buk Buk (bukabuk@hotmail.com), November 19, 2001.

How good are you at jerry-rigging? I have a friend who is a wildlife rehabilitator. He has had an owl or two at his place rehabilitating almost constantly for years. He went through a period of about 3 months with no owls and an owl started preying on his chickens. He had never had that problem. He set up a motion detector connected to a tape player instead of a light. The tape player played the sound of a great horned owl. He had no more problems. Of course during breeding season for owls, I guess this could cause a new and different set of problems....

-- Sheryl in Me (radams@sacoriver.net), November 19, 2001.

Interesting problem. While I think the owl tape may indeed solve your problem, if you put all those materials together, you may find the $ pretty discouraging. You most likely, however, will not find it causes new problems during owl-mating season (December-February, depending on where you live).
I would take the same tact - pattern-training the animal - and apply it differently. To the chickens, not the owl. I have had good success in getting all my fowl habitually to come to their coop by supplying them with an irresistible treat - restaurant scraps, in my case - when I want them to come in at night. They quickly learn when I call them (you make up your own call), they get good stuff; start the training procedure at dawn when they're hungry, and soon enough they'll understand the association. No more hens in trees.

-- Audie (paxtours@alaska.net), November 20, 2001.

I know to a free ranger, a pen sounds harsh, but I really think it is a good idea at times. I let my birds out to eat bugs, etc. on certain days when I can keep an eye on them. I also have several moveable pens, so they can range with covered protection(need to move frequently) We have large hawks and a large owl that come around for the field mice, etc. My birds have a covered pen for fall, when hunting birds come around more often. The first year, I lost several birds to hawks and varmits, since I let the birds open access to their coop. The hawks would hunt them during the day right in front of me! Since all of my birds need to either lay eggs or be a meal for us, I can not afford to grow up a bird for preditors. :o)

-- notnow (notnow05@yahoo.com), November 20, 2001.

Where I live, it is legal to shoot ANYTHING that is harassing the livestock. That owl will keep returning as long as the 'restaurant' is open.

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), November 21, 2001.